Swiss Watchmaker Longines salutes
elegance and style
Saint-Imier (Switzerland),
October 5, 2005 – Not least by
reason of the traditions and keen appreciation
for elegance they share, Longines has
partnered gymnastics for over one century
now. Instituted in 1997 jointly with
the International Gymnastics Federation
(FIG) and the European Gymnastics Federation
(FEG), the Longines Prize for Elegance
is today regularly awarded at the close
of major gymnastics meets. The prize
honors the athlete or team judged to
be the most elegant performer during
a world or continent-wide artistic or
rhythmic gymnastics competition, and
features a trophy specially designed
by Swiss artist Piero Travaglini, a Longines
wristwatch as well as a check worth US$5,000.
Established in 1832, Longines has from the first emphasized
elegance, not least during its more than a century’s
involvement in the world of sport, building its reputation
for precision, reliability and technological expertise
by monitoring sport performances, evaluating contestants’ performance
and rating their stylistic proficiency. Official timekeeper
at numerous Winter and Summer Olympic Games as well
as of many international and continent-wide sport competitions,
Longines has today decided to focus on sport disciplines
where elegance is of particular significance: gymnastics
and show jumping.
Since 1989, Longines has been the official partner
and timekeeper of the International Gymnastics Federation.
The company has earned its place and position by virtue
of the know-how and practical experience it brings
to bear on its appointed responsibilities. In fact,
Longines’ involvement with the world of sport
goes back to 1880 when it first made its chronographs
available to the organizers of gymnastics meetings
of every description. In 1912, Longines officially
timed the Swiss Federal Gymnastics Festival in Basle.
This event provided the venue for a pivotal world first
in sports timekeeping: the introduction of the first
automatic timing system based on the principle of the
finish-line tape, snapped by the winner of the 100-meter
race.
From the Olympic Games to world, international, continental
and national championships, the company has unceasingly
played a leading role in gymnastics. Most timing advances
and innovations in this area have stemmed from Longines’ capacity
to invent and adapt, improve and adjust, not to mention
its constant technological inventiveness.
The company has focused on gymnastics as an emblematic
sport from its perspective not least because it expresses
to perfection Longines’ own “Elegance is
an attitude” message. Practiced on all continents,
gymnastics meshes smoothly with Longines’ international
corporate image. Combining physical strength and endurance
with precision and grace, the sport is in tune with
the innovative spirit of its skilled watchmakers. Its
stylish refinement, its very beauty too, make it the
perfect showcase for the message of poise and elegance
that Longines watches invariably convey.
The
award criteria
With a view to giving concrete substance to its catchline “Elegance
is an attitude” and in its capacity as official
partner and timer of all world gymnastics events staged
under the patronage of the FIG, Longines of Switzerland
has since 1997 regularly awarded its Longines Prize
for Elegance. It rewards the team or athlete whose
performance has been judged the most elegant during
a world or continent-wide artistic or rhythmic gymnastics
competition. They are selected less on the basis of
their technical merits than for their natural gracefulness,
inbred elegance and warmth of personality. In other
words, the Longines Prize for Elegance rewards the
human aspects of sport.
The
Jury
A jury composed of distinguished personalities from
public life, the economy, gymnastics sport or show
business and representatives of Longines follows the
entire competition process and selects the winner of
the Longines Prize for Elegance on the basis of predetermined
criteria. At the close of the competition, the athlete
so honored is presented with the sculptured Longines
Prize for Elegance trophy designed by Swiss artist
Piero Travaglini.
Prize
money and awards
The athlete or team judged to be the most elegant performer
during a world or continent-wide artistic or rhythmic
gymnastics competition will be awarded with a trophy
specially sculptured by Swiss artist Piero Travaglini,
a Longines wristwatch as well as a check worth US$5,000.
Prize
history
Since its inception in 1997, Longines has awarded
its Longines Prize for Elegance on a number of occasions:
.1st prize (1997) Natalia
Lipkovskaya (Russia), at the 21st World
Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Berlin .2nd
prize (1998) Svetlana
Khorkina (Russia),
at the 22nd European
Artistic Gymnastics
Championships,
in St. Petersburg
(Russia) .3rd
prize
(1998) Spanish
women’s
gymnastics
team,
at the
22nd
World
Rhythmic
Gymnastics
Championships
in Sevilla
(Spain) .4th
prize
(1999) Viktoria
Fráter
(Hungary),
at the
15th
European
Rhythmic
Gymnastics
Championships
in Budapest
(Hungary) .5th prize (1999) Elena
Vitrichenko (Ukraine), at
the 23rd World Rhythmic Gymnastics
Championships in Osaka (Japan) .6th prize (1999) Svetlana
Khorkina (Russia) and Lu
Yufu (China), at the 34th
World Artistic Gymnastics
Championships in Tianjin
(China) .7th prize (2000) Esther
Dominguez (Spain), at the
16th European Rhythmic Gymnastics
Championships in Zaragoza
(Spain) .8th prize (2001) Irina
Tchachina (Russia), at the
24th World Rhythmic Gymnastics
Championships in Madrid (Spain) .9th prize (2002) Italian
women’s gymnastics
team, at the 25th World Rhythmic
Gymnastics Championships
in New Orleans (USA) .10th prize (2002) Cho
Eun-Jung (Korea), at the
14th Asian Games in Busan
(Korea) .11th prize (2002) Qin
Xiao (China) and Elena Zamolodchikova
(Russia), at the 36th World
Artistic Gymnastics Championships
in Debrecen (Hungary) .12th prize (2003) Carly
Patterson (USA) and Wei Yang
(China), at the 37th World
Artistic Gymnastics Championships
in Anaheim, California (USA) .13th prize (2003) Almudena
Cid (Spain), at the 26th
World Rhythmic Gymnastics
Championships in Budapest
(Hungary)
Longines is a member of Swatch Group Ltd, the world’s
leading watch manufacturer and marketer, with no fewer
than 158 production sites in Switzerland.
The
award criteria